Falling Back
by Ezra Verwayn
Summary: He thought he was finished with the whole hero business. He was tired and weary and just wanted to rest from the nightmares plaguing his sleep. When he was visited by a friend by the will of the Planet, Gaia, he had no choice. He had to fall back in time. To start over once again to save the Planet from the paracite known as Jenova. SLASH! M!PREG!
1. Chapter 1

Hey Nuggies! How's it goin? Well here I am with something that has never crossed my mind until recently. A FINAL FANTASY FANFICTION! My favorites out of the series has to be FFVII, FFVX, FF Dirge of Cerberus. They are also the ones I am more knowledgeable of as I have played all three of them. This will be Slash and M!Preg.

So fair warning if you do not like this genre of fanfiction then there is a back button. No need to leave a comment. Just take your negativity and go away. Now since this is FANFICTION I am taking some of my own liberties with this and changing a few things in both characters and timeline wise. This is also a TIME TRAVEL fic.

So please enjoy reading this and don't forget to leave a review! It fuels my muse.

Rating: M

Chapter Warning: None

Pairing: AGSZC (Cloud and Zack will be the ones with M!Preg)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy. It belongs to its rightful owners. I'm just doing this for the entertainment for myself and others and not taking any profit from this.

* * *

Mako blue eyes snapped open as the own gasped and sat up in his bed. He looked around frantically before calming down and falling back onto the bed. "I'm home. I'm home. I'm home," he chanted softly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead where blond hairs had stuck themselves to his light toned skin. He gulped as he took deep breaths. His arms and hands shook as he moved his appendage to turn on his side table lamp bathing the room in a orange glow thanks to the lampshade.

He moved to sit up against the wall at the head of his bed as he got his bearings back. He blinked his glowing blue eyes as he looked over the bare room. He turned his head side to side to pop his neck before getting up. The air was cool against his bare sweat slicked skin as he found his pajama pants and a soft, but warm sweater.

He glanced behind a curtain to see what time it was outside since he didn't have a clock in his room. The digital numbers of the clock would just keep him from sleeping. The full moon bathed the world in its moonlight making the water in Costa del Sol shine with its reflection. He took a deep breath before moving away from the window and out of his room. The hallway was dark since there were no windows, but he was able to see just fine thanks to the mako. There were three other doors other than his own. One was white, the second brown, and the last was blue.

He walked softly over to the brown door and opened it without a squeak to peak in. He gave a small smile as he saw his best friend and the mother to their adopted children, Tifa, sleeping in her bed. He backed out of the door to look in on the other two.

The blue door was next in order and behind it held his adopted son, Denzel. His wavy light brown hair stuck up everywhere from his sleep making him look like he was struck with a light Bolt materia. He walked into the room and righted the blankets before leaving to look into the last door.

The white door hid his adopted daughter, Marlene. He and Tifa took her in as a last wish from Barrett, who died two years ago in an accident. He smiled as he pushed her darker brown hair out of her face before leaving.

He sighed as he walked down the stairs at the end of the hall. The house was silent. The only sounds in the building was the sound of his breathing and the sounds of the waves outside coming inside. The sounds of the waves got louder and louder as he walked towards the door.

He silently opened the door and stepped out into the cooler air leaving small goose bumps along his skin. He walked down his patio stairs and into the cooler sand to go to the sea. Cloud stopped before the waves could reach him and sat down digging his toes into the sand. This was his favorite time of the day, or night that is. The only sounds he heard were of the ocean, his breathing, and the splashes of sea life breaching the waves as the moonlight drifted over him greeting him like an old friend.

This is were he would talk to Aerith. His beautiful, wise, sister in everything but blood, Aerith. His friends' passing shook him real hard. He could still see her at the Alter in the Ancient City kneeling on top of the water with a bright light surrounding her before-.

Sometimes when he was like this he could still see her standing in front of him wearing that sisterly smile on her lips and the warmth coming from her eyes. Sometimes she would just stand there, other times he swears he could hear her talking to him telling him that everything would be alright. He closed his eyes and shook his head to get rid of the thoughts.

When he opened his eyes she stood there just like every other time he thought about her. He stared at her transparent form. She stood there for a time before she moved towards him. He furrowed blond brows curiously since she had never done this before.

"Aerith," he said softly as she knelt in front of him still smiling.

"Cloud," her sweet voice called out softly. Her voice seemed like it was far away even though her form was right here in front of him. "We need you help," she said as she laid her hand on Cloud's knee. He held in a gasp at the warmth her hand let off.

"Who's we?" he asked as he looked up at her.

"Myself and the Planet," she said as her eyes glazed over slightly before coming in focus, "The Planets' Voice, the Goddess, Minerva, would like to meet Gaia's Chosen Hero. To give him his task. The world needs saving again Cloud, and we can only rely on you."

Cloud looked at her in shock as he heard her words. "Aerith what do you mean? Needs saving again?! I got rid of Sephiroth!"

"I know you have Cloud. The Planet is so ever grateful, but Cloud she's not gone. Jenova invaded the Lifestream. She's poisoning the Planet and all she cares for," Aerith said getting a more urgent tone to her voice, "Cloud, the Planet is dying. The trees have stopped growing, sea life and land life are dying, the grass yellows and browns not growing any longer. The lives in the Lifestream are gone."

Cloud looked at her in shock. The Planet… dying. He couldn't wrap his head around that particular statement. "Wh-What do I need to do?" he asked as he felt a small surge of… something fill him. He saw Aerith smile at him before green swirls and balls of light surrounded them.

When the lights faded away he had to blink to get rid of the spots the lights caused. When his vision normalized itself again his gazed in awe at the sights. The grassy field before him was the greenest he had ever seen. The grass was broken by patches of flowers. He could see roses, tulips, daffodils, lilies, baby blue eyes, dog violets, and many many others. The main focus of the field was the giant albizia saman tree in the middle of the field branching over and out.

At the base of the tree he saw a woman. It wasn't Aerith, he didn't know where she was, the woman had long blond hair like his own blond locks. He walked closer to the tree to make out more of her appearance. He stopped when he was a few feet away from her.

"Minerva," he whispered softly as he gazed into her soft and kind blue eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey Nuggies! How's it goin? Well here I am with something that has never crossed my mind until recently. A FINAL FANTASY FANFICTION! My favorites in the series are FFVII, FFXV, and FF Dirge of Cerberus. They are also the ones I am more knowledgeable of as I have played all three of them. This fanfiction will also be SLASH and M!Preg.

So fair warning if you do not like this genre of fanfiction then there is a back button. No need to leave a comment. Just take your negativity and go away. Now since this is FANFICTION I am taking some of my own liberties with this and changing a few things in both characters and timeline wise. This is also a TIME TRAVEL fic.

Rating: M

Pairing: AGSZC (Zack and Cloud will have the M!Preg)

Chapter Warnings: Foreign language. Translations will be in () after the language. I do not speak Norwegian so if any native Norwegian folk reading this and want to give me better translations feel free, but please be kind about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy. It belongs to its rightful owners. I'm just doing this for the entertainment for myself and others and not taking any profit from this.

Don't forget to Review!

* * *

"My Child," Cloud heard her say as she walked barefooted across the grass to him.

"Where is this?" he asked softly as he glanced around the tree and the fields.

"This is where the Planet conscious is. It is where I was made into what I am today. This tree is the life of the Planet. Without it the Planet is dead," Minerva said as she gestured to the colossal tree. Now that he was close to the tree he did notice that the bark was not as healthy as a normal trees' bark.

"What is that?" he asked as he saw bright poisonous green… something… running through the tree. His gaze went up to the leaves and saw that they were shriveled up and just hanging there waiting for a breeze of air to make them fall to the ground.

"The work of Jenova. Because she was introduced into the Lifestream. She began poisoning the Planet planning on making this world her domain to rule over everything. To cause disorder and chaos. To mutate the beings on this world that our Planet loved so dearly," she explained softly, "My Child, if you choose to accept it, to accept the Gift of the Planet, to be her Chosen Weapon, you'll be sent back to before the Great Calamity."

"I have questions," Cloud said as he returned his gaze back to Minerva only to see her looking at him as though she was looking into his very soul.

"I have answers," she quipped back with a playful smile gracing her lips.

"You said Chosen Weapon. I thought she already had the Sapphire, Ultimate, Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Jade, Omega, and Chaos Weapons. Why would she need another?" he asked as he crossed his arms in a relaxed manner, "Why would she need to make me a Weapon and what would that mean to me to be a Weapon?"

Minerva smiled as he asked that question. She figured that he would be the first question he would ask, "The Planet can't send back those who are fully human. They end up staying in the Lifestream with no way out of it. To send you to the past The Planet has to change you biologically to that of a Weapon. You'll still look like you, you'll still have everything about you, but you'll have abilities of a Weapon."

"What does it mean to have a biology and abilities of a Weapon?" he asked as he looked at her. So far everything had made sense to him except the whole part about him being turned into a Weapon.

"It is not an easy thing to explain," Minerva said as she folded her hands together and knelt down in a soft patch of grass. She gestured for Cloud to join her.

"Being a Weapon means to be a protector. Means to not bow to anyone, but to the will of the Planet and her Voice, me. It means to be connected to everything yet not connected at the same time. To know when there is danger and when there is peace," she explained, "You'll become more than a human. Yes, there will still be human instincts in you, but there will also be a deeper instinct sleeping inside of you. The best way to describe it really is to compare it to your friend and comrade Vincent Valentine."

Cloud made a soft humming sound as he listened to her explanation. He could understand what she meant. "Will it change me physically? Appearance wise I mean," he asked as he gestured to how he looked at the moment.

Minerva smiled and giggle as she replied, "Not so much as your eyes when the deeper instinct of the Weapon comes out. Your beautiful blues will turn golden. You'll mostly be you unless something happens to The Planet and she needs your help."

"What are the specifics of my task? What happens after it's done?" he asked as he bit his lip.

"I myself do not know of the specifics of your task and will not know until the time you are needed to complete it. The Planet will tell me and from there I will tell you. Afterwards it will be your life to live," she said as she gave him a softer smile, "Once you are taken back to the past the future you know will be obsolete. It'll be up to you how the new future is molded all the Planet asks is for the Parasite known as Jenova to be extinguished however you see fit, and for the Parasite to never enter the Lifestream. Cloud, you can save everyone."

Cloud stared at her as he thought of what she had just said.

 **Everyone.**

 **Could.**

 **Be.**

 **Saved.**

He gave himself a mental nod before focusing back on Minerva, "So where do I sign up?" he asked and in the next moment his vision went black.

* * *

Cloud groaned as he woke up. His body was so sore like he had sparred with Vincent for five straight hours. He kept his eyes closed as he gathered his surroundings. He was laying on a soft bed with a thin sheet on top of his person. The room he was in smelled of honeysuckles, cinnamon, and vanilla it oddly reminded him of his mother.

He could hear wind chimes and feel a cool breeze to which he assumed that there was an open window in the room he was in. He could hear a soft humming coming from somewhere in the building he was in. He opened his eyes and looked around.

"No way," he said softly as he took in the sight around him. The wood walls were covered with pictures and posters of people he hadn't seen in years. On one wall were posters of Sephiroth just like the ones from when he was… twelve.

His eyes widened as he looked down at himself. "What the fuck," he said softly to himself his voice was a higher pitch than before. He was in the body of a twelve year old or a small twelve year old. "I thought Minerva said I'd be in the body I was taken back with?!" He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before looking around again.

"If I was taken back this far that means my Mom is still alive," he said as he tried to piece everything together, "It's spring. That means I'm around the time I told Mom I was going to be a SOLDIER." He thought about it for a moment and nodded. He would try and keep everything the same until he needed to start changing it except for one detail. He'd get Vincent out of his coffin earlier. He needed the man since he couldn't do them at the moment with his body the way it is.

He flung black his fox fur blanket his mother had made him off his body before carefully getting out of his bed. His head swam for a moment making the room around him spin before he got his equilibrium back. He quickly got dressed making sure to tight his boots on tight before making his way down the stairs.

The house was a simple two bed one bath house made of wood. He remembered his father telling him that he made it for his mother as a wedding present before his mom told his father she was pregnant with him. As he walked down the stairs he looked at the pictures on the wall that his Mom had hung up. There were pictures of him when he was smaller playing around with native Nibel wolf cubs, playing with the other kids before the incident with Tifa happened, and one that made him stop.  
It was the last picture they had of all three of them together. Him, his Mom, and his Dad. He reached up and touched the picture softly as he took in the kind warm grey eyes his father had and the bright blond hair like his own. His father was covered in tattoos from his own clan that he had gotten before he moved here to be with Mom. The man was large, but he was kind, strong, he was the kind of guy to help anyone and anything if they were hurt or sick.

He had always wanted to be like Anvindr (Ahn-vin-deer) Strife.

Cloud pulled away form the photo and finished making his way down to the kitchen. The bottom level of the house was simple like the rest. It was very open with only one blocked off room, the bathroom. He walked further into the room and saw his mother kneading something in the kitchen.

"God morgen, Mor (Good morning, Mother)," Cloud said as he walked over towards her. Soleil (So-lay) Strife looked up and smiled at her son. Her shinning blue eyes filled with love for him and happiness was framed by dark black locks of hair while the rest of it was pulled up into a long pony tail with the ends just reaching her lower back.

"God morgen, liten storm Cloud (Good morning, little storm Cloud)," she greeted back as she kept kneading the dough he had identified.

"What are you making?" he asked as he looked at the plain looking dough.

"Gogoşi," she said with a small smile, "I know it's your favorite."

Cloud looked at the dough with a little more excitement, "What's the occasion?" he asked since she usually never made it for him unless something special happened.

"Because you've been having it rough lately with the other kids. I just wanted to make you smile," she said as she placed the dough in a lightly oiled bowl to let it rise, "Now can you go hunting for us? Try and get enough meat to last a small bit?"  
Cloud nodded, "What should I look for? Deer, rabbit, Bear?" he asked as he went to get a pack to put some food and stuff in. Before he picked it up he thought for a moment. Should he tell his mom about what happened to him? Minerva didn't tell him not to tell anyone, even though it was kind of a given, but this was his mother. He could trust her.

"Actually before I go Mom, can I talk to you about something?" he asked as he turned back to her. She turned away from the sink she was at washing her hands and went to dry them.

"Of course you can," she said as she walked over to him, "Sit and tell me what ails you my Cloud."  
Cloud sat down by his mother and thought for a moment just what he would say. "Mom do you believe in the Goddess, Minerva?" He started out with. If she believed in the Goddess then all of this would run a bit more smoother.

"I know of her, but I cannot say I believe in her. I do believe in the Old Gods here in out village, but this Minerva is a foreign one I do not know of," she said as he dark brows furrowed in confusion.

"What would you say about time travel?" he asked as he bit his lip.

"Well I think it could be possible if someone messing with Time Materia wrongly, Cloud what are with the questions?" Soleil asked wanting her son to get to the bottom of his concerns without going around it like a buffoon.

"I just wanted to see what you would say to those questions so when I say that I was sent back in time by the Goddess Minerva to do the bidding of The Planet to prevent all of the life on The Planet from being killed off by a Parasite known as Jenova you wouldn't think I was crazy," he rambled out quickly as he got up to pace in front of his mother. He stopped speaking and looked at his mother to see her reaction.

Soleil looked at her small child with wide eyes. She couldn't believe her ear. Sent back in time? Her little Cloud. "Explain slowly and more thoroughly," she said as she patted the seat beside her.

Cloud took a deep breath as he sat down by his Mother once again. "The Planet was dying. There were only a few of us left alive. Tifa, Denzel, Marlene, Vincent, and I were the only ones left. Everything else died thanks to Jenova, a Parasitic Alien life form that arrive on Earth two thousand years ago in a meteor. According to Minerva and some Cetra that survived Jenova infiltrated the Cetra taking on their appearance of one of their fallen before the Parasite attacked them. The Cetra managed to seal Jenova, but not after the Parasite almost killing off the entire Cetra race.

Almost thirty years ago a scientist by the name of Gast Faramis found Jenova and exhumed her out of the place the Cetra had sealed her in. Claimed her to be a Cetra thanks to her appearance. They began to use her cells to create serums to try and make a human-Cetra hybrid to bring them to the Promised Land from the legends. They weren't successful, but they were able to create super soldiers.

That's how the SOLDIER program came about. Sephiroth wasn't the first experiment, but he was the first successful one. A scientist by the name of Ivan Hojo and his colleague Lucrecia Crescent experimented with Crescent's child while he was in her womb. Hojo injected her with Jenova Cells, J-Cells, with her permission during the pregnancy.

Vincent Valentine, being the baby's father, didn't know what they were doing until it was too late. Crescent began having nightmares about her child and what he would do in the future. How he would go crazy because of the J-Cells and kill everything in his way to purge the world for his so called 'Mother' Jenova."

"I thought you said that this Crescent person was his mother?" Soleil said as she sat back in her seat. When she told him to explain things in detail she definitely wasn't prepared for this.

"She is," Cloud said as he looked over at her and adjusted himself in his own seat, "Hojo got rid of Crescent after the birth claiming that she would corrupt the experiment. In her insanity she agreed and left only to come back to her sanity after she was in cased in solid crystal Mako. By then she was too late to do anything. Hojo had already tainted Sephiroth's mind into believing that he was his father and that his Mother was Jenova.

Sephiroth at a young age began his training to be the ultimate SOLDIER. By the time he was 15 he was already the General that everyone knows, but no one knew his age except for Hojo. When he was younger at age 8 he was introduced to two others. Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley. They were also experiments but by another scientist named Everett Hollander. Hollander was jealous of Hojo's project with Sephiroth. With Gast's research in hand he created Project G and just like what Hojo did with crescent he injected a woman named Gillian Hewley with J-Cells.

But with Hollander one just wasn't enough. One night he had left Midgar with the purpose to get another to experiment with. He went to Banora Village and kidnapped the village Mayor's adopted son, Genesis Rhapsodos, when he was just a babe. With the babe in hand he returned to Midgar where he left Hewley and began his experiments. He would inject her with J-Cells and then inject Hewley's cells, H-Cells, into Genesis.

Over the years it seemed like the experiments were a success and when the two boys were 8 they were introduced to Sephiroth. They trained together but Sephiroth was still much stronger than both Genesis and Angeal making Hollander jealous again. The experiments went on and years later came the consequences of them. Genesis and Angeal started to degrade. They started dying.

They left Shinra since the company couldn't help them taking Hollander with them since he claimed he knew how to stop or reverse the degradation. Genesis became desperate and began making clones to try and find anything to stop what was going on.

I was an infantry man during this time. I was sent on a mission with First Class Zackary Fair, my best friend, and Turk Director Tseng. There was a Genesis sighting in Banora Village. We went, search, found Gillian Hewley dead in her home, then found Genesis in a warehouse on the outskirts of the village. Angeal was with him.  
I watched Zack fight Genesis before Tseng involved himself in the fighting. Just as Genesis was about to finish Zack off Angeal showed up to fight his student. Zack ended up killing Angeal leaving Genesis alone. I don't remember what happened with Genesis, but he came back years after Sephiroth was first killed.  
A few months after that mission I got another to come here with Sephiroth and Zack. The reactor needed checking on, but that wasn't why we were sent. Hojo just wanted Sephiroth to come here to get closer to his 'Mother.' When he entered the Mansion he started to become crazy. Jenova was speaking to him. We tried to get him to stop but he didn't.

 **He destroyed everything.**

 **He burned everything.**

 **He killed you, Mom, and everyone else in the village."**

Cloud got a far away look in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his middle. He had never spoken about it really since the time he was from everyone knew of it. He felt his Mother wrapped her arms around him and held him. Cloud couldn't stop the few tears that fell from his eyes as he took in her earthy scent.  
She whispered softly in his ears as he finally grieved for those he hadn't been able to do so before. He cried softly in his Mother's arms before he pulled away needing to finish his story.

He explained about how he became an experiment for the next four years with Zack under Hojo to become the next Sephiroth. He told her how Zack managed to get them out and almost to Midgar before his best friend was killed and he was taken by a group of people.  
He told her of how he became the leader of a group of people wanting to take Sephiroth down. How they were hunted and how they hunted themselves. He mentioned the Weapons and Meteor and how he killed Sephiroth time and time again.

"Then Aerith came to me and took me to Minerva. The Goddess and The Planet needed me. They changed me from the human/alien/experiment I was and changed me into a Weapon for the Planet. She told me that after I was done with my tasks I could live peacefully. I said yes. It went dark and then I was woken up here," he finished his story softly. He kept his gaze down to his lap not wanting to see his Mother looking at him like he was crazy.

"I believe you," she said making Cloud look up at her sharply, "The emotions you showed in your face as you talked told me everything. I believe you." Cloud sniffed a few times as he gathered his Mother in a tight hug.

"Thank you," was all he said.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey Nuggies! How's it goin? Well here I am with something that has never crossed my mind until recently. A FINAL FANTASY FANFICTION! My favorites in the series are FFVII, FFXV, and FF Dirge of Cerberus. They are also the ones I am more knowledgeable of as I have played all three of them. This fanfiction will also be SLASH and M!Preg.

So fair warning if you do not like this genre of fanfiction then there is a back button. No need to leave a comment. Just take your negativity and go away. Now since this is FANFICTION I am taking some of my own liberties with this and changing a few things in both characters and timeline wise. This is also a TIME TRAVEL fic.

Rating: M

Pairing: AGSZC (Zack and Cloud will have the M!Preg)

Chapter Warnings: None

Foreign language. Translations will be in () after the language. I do not speak Norwegian so if any native Norwegian folk reading this and want to give me better translations feel free, but please be kind about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy. It belongs to its rightful owners. I'm just doing this for the entertainment for myself and others and not taking any profit from this.

Don't forget to Review!

* * *

"Is there anything else you need to say before you go hunting love?" Soleil asked as her son pulled away. Her heart tugged a bit when she saw the red rimmed blue eyes. She grabbed a tissue for her son to use to wipe his cheeks and blow his nose.

"Can I bring Vincent back?" he asked as he looked up at her, "I need him. He can help me train and figure out my Weapon side. I'd rather know now how to use it instead of stumbling through using it when I get to Shinra. I don't want to get the attention of Hojo or Hollander."

"Of course you can bring him here. I'll find an excuse to make for him. Maybe about hiring him to be your instructor? Assuming that he will be helping you train and get your strength back to what it was." she said as she got up to check on her dough. She was still going to make the fried dough for her son.

"I'll run it by him when I get to him. I-is Dad's sword still in the attic?" he asked softly looking at her. He'd rather go with a weapon to the Mansion to get Vincent than go unarmed and get attacked by a monster before he got any Materia or his Fusion Sword to defend himself. He would need to get the safe open too to get the summon Odin now that he thought about it.

"Yeah baby," she said as she looked at her little warrior, "It might need some polishing first though. It's a bit dusty and I don't know if there's any rust on it. It's been a while since it has been used."

"Okay. I'll go get it," Cloud said before walking back up to the second floor. He reached the end of the hallway where he could see the trap door on the ceiling. He jumped up and grabbed the string that was hanging down pulling the door down with it as he landed back on his feet.

He watched as the ladder, dusty and creaky, hit the ground leaving him able to climb it. He took a deep breath before making his way up the ladder and into the room it led to. The attic in their home spanned the entire length and width of the house, but it was empty besides the few pieces of unfinished wooden furniture, his baby and toddler things, and his Fathers' things.

He walked through the furniture and his baby things to make his way to his Fathers' items. His old clothes were folded and put into small bins while the rest of his things were scattered on top of them. One item in particular that he was searching for was on its own pedestal.

He remembered when his father came back from Wutai with it. He was four at the time. His father had gone with an ambassador since they hired him to help protect the ambassador. Anvindr had broken his last sword protecting the Emperor and the Ambassador from some assassins hoping to kill them both to make the Wutai war continue for years.

His Father told him that the Emperor had gifted him the sword after everything had calmed down. It was a one of a kind. Cloud reached out shaking and took the smooth wood and leather scabbard in his hands. He looked at the characters on the swords even though he couldn't read them. He knew what they meant though.

Protect and Live.

His Father said that the name of the sword was lost to ages, but people always knew of its legend. He couldn't remember it though; just that his Father said to take care of it when he was old enough to use it.

Cloud grasped the handle and with a soft sound of metal sliding against metal he pulled the sword out. He looked in the scabbard and saw metal plating in it and realized that it helped sharpen the sword the it was sheathed and unsheathed. He set the scabbard down and brought his attention to the sword in his hand.

Even with the minimal light in the room he could see the sword in all its' beauty as it shone in the light that was in the room. The pommel and handle of the sword was crafted elegantly and wrapped on soft, but strong leather cords leaving diamond shapes down the handle to the guard showing the wooden handle underneath it.

The blade was something he had never seen before. The usual silver metal off a sword was so dark of a black it reflected colors back when the light hit it. It kind of reminded him of an onyx stone if it met an oil spill and it came together in the sword. He traced the sword all the way to its' curved tip before he slipped it back into it scabbard.

He had seen no fault in the blade so he brought it down with him as he left the attic. He slipped into his room for a moment to grab a bag to put some food and water in it since it was a long hike up to the mansion and he was sure Vincent would like food and water after his long slumber. He put it over his shoulder as he hurried out of the room and back down the stairs. Cloud tied the scabbard onto his hip tightly so it wouldn't fall off as he walked into the kitchen.

The small blond smelled the sweet scent of fried dough and chocolate. "Smells nydelig (delicious), Mom," Cloud said as he walked over to her to see a small pile of freshly fried dough.

"There's fruit to eat it with as well, min sønn (my son)," Soleil said with a small smile, "don't forget to take the crossbow and a few strips of jerky when you go."

"I won't! I'll just have a few of these first. I should be back tomorrow night at the latest," Cloud said as he piled four pieces on his plate then added strawberries, blueberries, wild berries, and then drizzled it in chocolate. He sighed softly as he took his first bite of the dough. It was soft and warm and everything he remembered. It really had been too long since he had this. Tifa never made it right when she tried.

Soleil watched as her son enjoyed his breakfast. She turned to grab the few done pieces in her oil before putting a few more in. "So Cloud, tell me about this Vincent," she said as she turned back to her son.

He looked at her surprised as he swallowed what he had in his mouth, "Well he's a cold, ruthless, no nonsense kind of guy, but he really does care about those he claims as friend or family. He would go to the ends of the Earth to defend or save a friend or family member even if it meant his own life. He's a loner kind of guy, but when he's with others he makes it a point to try and help out with whatever he can. Even if it mucks up whatever the others are doing, but it usually is the best option if he is doing it. He's the strategic thinker of the group as well as a front line fighter with me. He was the father figure in my life after Dad passed. He looked after me and I him when he needed it. He's someone I would never replace." Cloud looked down at his plate as he explained to his mother about Vincent. He really did miss him.

"Well, I think love, if you really miss him as much as you say you do then get up and get a hustle on out of here to him," she said as she gave her son a small smile as she gestured at the door, "I bet he's waiting on you too."

Cloud sent her a wide smile before getting up to put his plate in the sink. He quickly gathered supplies as well as a potion or two that his mother had in stock. He made a silent promise to replace the potions he took. "I'll be back! Oh! And don't be scared if you see smoke and flames in the mountains!" he said before hurrying out of the house before his mother could question what he meant. She would find out later.

* * *

Nibelheim was the same as he remembered from when he was younger. The tall green grass and the scattered wooden buildings that made his home. As he walked he saw and heard the cattle that a few of his neighbors kept. There were pigs, cows, chickens, and a few other animals that once his neighbors gathered the resources they would sell in the center of town in the market. He remembered that his mother would get pelts from the wolves he or his father would kill for them and sell them in the market.

He ignored people he passed and they didn't give him any mind as well. He passed the village fish pond and the butcher on his way out of the little village. He was almost out of the place when his name was called.

"Cloud!"

He turned around and he had to keep his eyes from widening as he saw Tifa running towards him. She was young. Just like him. Her hair was short to her shoulders and her body had yet to grow into the woman he knew she would grow up to be. Her kind brown eyes shown with a youthful innocence he hadn't seen in what seemed like a very long time.

"Tifa," he said softly once the girl reached him.

"So Cloud, what are you doing today?" she asked as she clasped her hands behind her back, "If you're not doing anything want to go exploring with me?"

Cloud was taken back at the sudden question, but held in the yes he wanted to say. He had things he needed to do, "I have to go hunting. Then mom asked me to do a few things around the house. A few repairs and things," he explained as he shouldered the bag higher on his shoulder drawing the attention of those innocent brown eyes to them.

"Oh! How about I join you then?" she asked as she clapped her hands together once.

"Sorry," Cloud said before biting his lip, "I'd rather go alone. I'm meeting with Håvard and you know that the wolf doesn't like you much." He always had met up with the wolf ever since Håvard and himself were young. They were practicality brothers since they grew up together.

Tifa gave him a small pout, "Well when you're done hanging out with beasts, us humans, will be here in the village," she said harshly before turning around and walking away. He watched as she was quickly joined with a few other girls he didn't remember the names to but knew they were from the village.

He shook his head and turned back to head out. As he walked he was kind of worried. Tifa had never acted that way with him. Did coming back change things? Did the future he knew even exist anymore? Was he really back in time in his own timeline or was he in a different timeline? Thoughts and questions raced through his head as he trudged further into the vast wilderness that surrounded his childhood home.

He was so lost in thought he was very aware of his surroundings and was surprised when he was tackled to the ground. "Oof!" he exclaimed as the air left his lungs as what felt like over a hundred pounds landed on him. He quickly turned around ready to fight, but relaxed when he realized that he knew who his attacker was.

"Håvard! Come on!" Cloud said as he pushed the rather large wolf off. When he stood up he wasn't surprised when he had to look up to meet the eyes of the wolf. He took in the dark fur of his companion. It was black in majority, but was speckled with grey and silver. The wolf's eyes were blue thanks to the natural mako he was either born with or had consumed with his prey or from streams. He knew it was his wolf from the scars across his right eye and the torn left ear. "I missed you too," Cloud said as he ran his hand through the fur on Håvard's cheek.

He spent the next few minutes bonding with his wolf before he started heading to wards the mansion. It was time to get Vincent. He spoke to Håvard softly explaining what was going on. He knew the wolf couldn't say anything to another human so he told the beast everything.

It seemed like several hours, but was only two hours in reality, by the time they made it to the mansion. He stopped by the entrance and took a deep breath. Going into the building was hard. He couldn't help but remember that almost everything that went wrong in the future started here. This was where Sephiroth went crazy. Where he killed everyone. Where he was kept as he was being experimented on with Zack by Hojo.

He hated this place.

Plain and simple.

He felt Håvard nudge his side softly bringing him back to reality. "Thanks," he murmured getting a soft huff back before he entered the building. It was trashed like last time, but it was also quiet which made Cloud be on guard even more. He hurried through not bothering to explore since he knew the layout like the back of his hand. He quickly made it to the main office. It had a large safe in the back of the room which he quickly walked towards. If he remembered correctly there was a monster in the safe.

He quietly as he could unsheathed his sword and held it in a loose grip as he dialed the code in. He was surprised that he remembered it as the lock clicked open. He was ready with a single swipe of his sword decapitating the monster within without it getting a single movement in. He grabbed the corpse and drug it out without a single sound as the body squelched and dripped before it hit the ground. He ignored the blood that covered him from the spray as he opened the door wider. He warned Håvard of not eating it since it would make the wolf sick before reaching in.

He immediately felt warmth in his palm surging through his whole body once he grasped the Odin summon. " _Welcome back youngling,"_ came the strong, gruff, yet fatherly like voice that echoed through his head.

Cloud's eyes widened, "Odin?" he said aloud as he looked down at the bright red orb.

" _Indeed. We summons are beings that don't belong to one time or world. We are Lifestream beings. Those made of willing souls willing to keep fighting to defend, protect, or destroy. All of your previous summons remember you and yours. We all would be honored if you will accept us back,"_ Odin explained as the warmth fluctuated in his palm.

"How can I hear you? I've never heard you guys before," Cloud asked as he moved to sit down.

He heard a soft chuckle from Odin before the old summon explained, " _Because the Goddess Minerva and The Planet Gaia made you into a Weapon. Weapon's are created with the Lifestream as well letting us commune with one another. You will see as you grow into your power as Weapon many things that you see now will change. For now young one I will sleep until you need me once again."_

Cloud let out a soft breath as he felt the almost overwhelming warmth fade away until it was a small heat in his palm. He tucked Odin's Materia in his bag in a safe place before getting up. "Let's keep going," he said to Håvard he wouldn't let this bother him right now. He hoped Vincent would have answers about it.

He opened the stairway leading down before hurrying down it. He heard the clacking of his wolf behind him as he finally reached the bottom. He sliced at the locked door leading to Vincent's room making it fall with a loud bang. He sheathed his sword before walking over the fallen door. He reached over and flipped a switch making the lights flicker a few times before they clicked on.

He paid the opened caskets in the room no attention as he headed straight to the one in the middle. It was the only one that was closed. The casket was black with silver finishes on the handles and decor. He stopped before it before reaching out with a cautious hand. Cloud hoped and prayed to whoever would listen to him that Vincent would listen to him and not deem him crazy or would somehow have his memories of the future. He opened the lid without a sound as he held his breath. He almost dropped the lid when he saw what was in it.

His friend.

His Vincent.

Gone.

The casket was empty.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey Nuggies! How's it goin? Well here I am with something that has never crossed my mind until recently. A FINAL FANTASY FANFICTION! My favorites in the series are FFVII, FFXV, and FF Dirge of Cerberus. They are also the ones I am more knowledgeable of as I have played all three of them. This fanfiction will also be SLASH and M!Preg.

So fair warning if you do not like this genre of fanfiction then there is a back button. No need to leave a comment. Just take your negativity and go away. Now since this is FANFICTION I am taking some of my own liberties with this and changing a few things in both characters and timeline wise. This is also a TIME TRAVEL fic.

Rating: M

Pairing: AGSZC (Zack and Cloud will have the M!Preg)

Chapter Warnings: Time Skip

Foreign language. Translations will be in () after the language. I do not speak Norwegian so if any native Norwegian folk reading this and want to give me better translations feel free, but please be kind about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy. It belongs to its rightful owners. I'm just doing this for the entertainment for myself and others and not taking any profit from this.

Don't forget to Review!

A/N: I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to sakurahan as their review made me smile, quite large in fact, and their prediction of the plot gave me a few ideas, but alas I couldn't use them. They're not my ideas. I am however glad you are enjoying this fanfiction and I hope to read more predictions in the future as this fanfiction progresses.

* * *

Cloud looked around frantically trying to find any shred of evidence that his friend was still somewhere in the building. He looked along the dusty floor for tracks but didn't see any so he looked up since he knew his friends liking to high places, but he didn't see any indication he was up there either. He left the room and kept looking around desperate to find a sign. He didn't want to be too loud since he didn't want to wake any of the monsters around.

Håvard sniffed around and sneezed as dust and dirt filled his nose. He looked down at his blond haired companion with a small huff he walked away to one of the staircases that went down. Cloud followed the wolf silently as he kept a hand on the hilt of his sword ready for anything that could attack them. They moved lower and lower in the building as they traversed the stairway.

Cloud could feel the air thicken with Mako as they went down making shivers run up and down his back as the Mako he felt didn't feel like the good natural Mako he was accustomed to. The further he went down the worse he felt. He grew nauseous and dizzy as he went from standing straight to having to hold onto Håvard so he didn't fall.

Cloud looked around once they had finally made it to the bottom. The room was wide open and filled with nothing though part of the floor had caved in giving the room an unearthly glow as Mako was exposed from underground. In the room not too far from the Mako was a large dusty glass container hooked to a few machines, but there was a large tube connected to the container and the Mako like to was siphoning the liquid between the two.

"Jenova," he whispered softly as he saw the floating parasite in the container. He approached the glass and stood two feet away when the being in the container moved to look at him making him stop where he was at. He was surprised when he didn't hear her Voice like he had before when he was here with Zack and Sephiroth. He watched her as she stared at him before he turned away from the Parasite.

He heard banging on the glass and turned once again to see a misshapen hand bang against the glass and her furious expression. He gulped softly before turning away once again and leaving not wanting to stay there any longer. He would leave her here until he found a way to get rid of her. He quickly left the room and locked the door behind him softly hoping that no one would find the Parasite down there for the time being. Cloud would have to think of a way to hide her from Hojo so the mad scientist couldn't get to her again.

Once he was back on ground level he continued his search for Vincent as he was ready to leave the disrupted Mako behind him along with the Parasite that poisoned it. He searched room after room with nothing to show for it, but before the tiny shred of hope he still had left vanished he finally found something.

A scent.

He stopped by the front door and took a deep breath to take in the scent. Metal, gunpowder, and something spicy. Something completely Vincent. He quickly followed the sent out of the building and around it towards the mountains where no one would go thanks to the Nibel Dragons that made their nests in the mountains. The ran fast and far up until he reached close to the tip of the mountain where if he remembered correctly was a cave they had stayed in at one point or another.

He commanded Håvard to stay outside while he ventured inside. He didn't want Vincent, if he was really here, to accidentally kill his companion. The scent grew stronger and stronger in the darkness of the cave until he felt the heat of another human standing in front of him making him stop. He looked up and saw blazing red eyes.

"Vincent," he said softly in relief as he saw him once again.

"Cloud," he heard the deep rumble of his lost friend speak, "So I am not dreaming?"

Cloud shook his head as he reached out and touched Vincent tugging on the jacket he always wore to get him to start walking. "Come on. We can talk on the way. My mom is expecting us," he said as he turned with his grip still on Vincent's jacket.

"What's going on?" Vincent asked as he followed the smaller than he remembered blond out of the cave. He tensed slightly as he saw the large wolf sitting just outside the entrance.

"He's a friend," Cloud said as he whistled for Håvard to start walking. He turned to his friend now they were in the sunlight and what he saw shocked him. "Your hair is short!" he said as he saw the spiky dark hair being somewhat tamed by the always present red headband.

"When I woke up back in the mansion it was like this. It is why I assumed this was all a dream. Then I went to see if Nibelheim was there and it was," Vincent said uncharacteristically rambling on, "Then all of my memories hit me all at once thanks to Chaos. I died then I was here."

Cloud sighed softly as he began to explain everything that happened after his friend died. How he was able to stop Sephiroth and Jenova then how he came to be a father figure for Denzel and Marlene and finally how he ended up here in the past. "Then I told my mom what happened and she actually believed me," he said softly as they traversed the foliage, "She let me go and find you to bring you to our home. To help me figure out the first step. I didn't know if you would remember me, but I figured that there was a slight chance you might thanks to Chaos."

"So Minerva and the Planet turned you into a Weapon?" he asked softly as he shook black hair out of his eyes, "Well first things first we actually need to see if this is our timeline or another."

Cloud looked at him confused before asking why they needed to. He thought that the whole reason he was sent back was to fix their future. "Since I awoken sometime ago I have noticed a few inconsistencies in the history of the world. Or at least recent history," Vincent said as he watched Cloud tear down a few animals to take with them.

"Like what?" Cloud asked as he tied twine around the kills to make them easier to carry.

"I had managed to snatch a newspaper from a few days ago and saw this," Vincent said taking the torn paper from his inside pocket. Cloud looked down and saw the few headlines in all caps that made his jaw drop.

PRESIDENT CORDON SHINRA DEAD!

WHO'S TO TAKE OVER COMPANY?!

A BATTLE FOR THE CHAIR! RUFUS VS LAZARD!

FIRST CLASS SOLDIERS ON STRIKE AFTER DEATH OF PRESIDENT!

MURDER OR SUICIDE? WHAT OR WHO KILLED PRESIDENT CORDON SHINRA!

Cloud looked up at Vincent shocked, "I-Is this for real?" he asked as he felt his heart pound in his chest, "I mean it would probably make things go a lot easier for us, but still!?"

Vincent waited until Cloud calmed down from the shock of the newspaper before speaking, "Now do you believe why I think we are not in our timeline?" He saw Cloud nod before voicing his agreements and began walking again to get home.

"We don't know how this changes things so we can't really follow along with our timeline. All we can assume is that whoever takes over the company is going to either stay on the same path Shinra put it on or completely screw everything up," Cloud said as they walked a little faster down the mountain, "So this means that we train and train and train until we are sure we can handle what this time is going to throw at us."

"We only have four years to do it," Vincent said as they made it to the outskirts of the town, "If you are still following the plan to go to Soldier."

"Then we only have four years," Cloud said softly as he turned bright blue eyes up to look at darker red eyes.

* * *

Time flew by for Cloud and Vincent as they stuck to their new plan to train. During the first few months Shinra announced that they had a joint president in both Rufus and Lazard and that it was surprisingly working well. The Soldier program was changed and was working more efficiently than when it first started out years ago to the surprise of both Cloud and Vincent.

As the training progressed so did Clouds' Weapon abilities. He was able to see the Lifestream around him and with that he was able to track everything that had life in it. He could navigate the world around him with his eyes closed and it honestly amazed him. Along with that he was stronger, faster, could think more clearly, and he had wings.

He. Had. Wings.

As in he was able to fly on his own. The fact he could fly without any assistance gave him more freedom and cleared his mind on everything. It gave him somewhere he could calm down and be himself. And he absolutely loved it.

Getting in touch with his Weapon side changed his appearance a small bit. He grew lighter in coloring making it seem like the glowed and Vincent said that Cloud reminded him of an angel and his wings didn't help stop the imagery at all. His hair grew slightly and his body, while still small and petite like, was strong.

All of his training led to this moment here four years after being sent here. Cloud was standing beside a run down truck as its driver turned it on with a loud bang. "Are you sure this can carry the three of us?" Cloud asked his old neighbor, Mr. Bastion, as he told Håvard to hop in the back. The wolf, who had also grown larger, obeyed making the back of the truck sink down slightly under the weight.

"'Course it can son," he said as he gestured for the boy to get in, "You sure Shinra said you can bring your wolf here?"

"Yeah," Cloud said getting in setting the bag of his belongings down at his feet. He made himself comfortable in the seat as the drive would be a long one. He would have flown their but then Håvard couldn't have followed him. "I claimed he was a combat wolf taught at as a cub to fight along side me," he said buckling in.

"Well that's nifty," Bastion said as they began the trek down the mountain. The ride while talk silent and long was a comfortable one. The next few hours was filled with soft playing music and stares through towns as they caught sight of Håvard laying in the back with his head laying on the side of the truck.

They stopped a few towns through where Cloud was mailed a ticket from Shinra for a ferry to take him and his wolf across the water to Costa Del Sol and then from there a train ticket to Midgar. Vincent had somehow manage to talk to someone in Shinra for them to send the tickets to him. He didn't want to delve into what Vincent had gotten into in the last four years.

Cloud said goodbye to his neighbor as his wolf got out of the back. Cloud, to Håvard aggravation, had to put a collar and leash on the wolf as they walked through the town to the docks where he would board the ferry. It seemed like people would freak out if they saw a uncollared and unleashed wolf among them even if the wolf was a large teddy bear.

"I'll take the leash off when we get on the ferry," Cloud reassured Håvard softly as he scratched his untorn ear getting a small huff from the beast. Just as Cloud grew so did his wolf as the beast reached his mid chest in height. They were getting stares and were stopped a few times by authorities to make sure Håvard wasn't about to go on a killing spree.

Quite a bit of time passed, but they were finally able to board the ferry they needed to take with little trouble. And to his wolf's relief he was leash free and made a show of it by rolling around the wood deck and lounging in the sun. During the time they road on the ferry Cloud was ask question after question about his wolf and the blond was quite relieved once they were able to get off the ferry.

He had checked his train ticket once more after getting off the ferry and saw he had time to look around the shops before having to get on it. He bought a few things here and there that fit in his bag and he even got a treat for Håvard for being good for him on the leash so far. By the time they got to the station the train was ready to be boarded and thankfully this time he got a private cabin for himself and his wolf. He was also happy to note that the train ride would only be three hours instead of the eight hours the ferry ride took.

Cloud managed to fall asleep during the ride despite his motion sickness acting up and was feeling worse when he was awoken to get off. He groggily made his way off and down the street with what seemed like other hopefuls for Shinra if the multitudes of males walking the same way he was with large bags themselves told him. By the time the group of males he was following made it to the building he was filling better and was ignoring the looks he got for his appearance, if some of the disgusting whispers he heard of was for him, and his wolf who was panting softly from the heat and wagging his tail.

He stopped off to the side of the group as more and more people joined them standing in front of the large Shinra building. Cloud glanced up at the podium that was set before the double doors along with the few chairs on either side. It wasn't long after he glanced up that people came out of the doors.

He counted them as they came out and shockingly even though he had not personally met them he knew who each and every one was. Scarlet, Heidegger, Palmer, Reeve, Hojo, Hollander, Rufus, Lazard, Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth, Tseng, Cissnei, Rude, Reno, Elena. All of them who had died whether he wanted them to or not. He swallowed softly around the knot in his throat as Håvard nudged him with a cold wet nose to say that it was okay and that he was here. He spaced out during the speeches Lazard and Rufus gave only to come to when Rufus smiled and announced.

"Welcome to Shinra."


	5. Chapter 5

Hey Nuggies! How's it goin? Well here I am with something that has never crossed my mind until recently. A FINAL FANTASY FANFICTION! My favorites in the series are FFVII, FFXV, and FF Dirge of Cerberus. They are also the ones I am more knowledgeable of as I have played all three of them. This fanfiction will also be SLASH and M!Preg.

So fair warning if you do not like this genre of fanfiction then there is a back button. No need to leave a comment. Just take your negativity and go away. Now since this is FANFICTION I am taking some of my own liberties with this and changing a few things in both characters and timeline wise. This is also a TIME TRAVEL fic.

Rating: M

Pairing: AGSZC (Zack and Cloud will have the M!Preg)

Chapter Warnings: Time Skip

Foreign language: Translations will be in () after the language. I do not speak Norwegian so if any native Norwegian folk are/is reading this and want to give me better translations feel free, but please be kind about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy. It belongs to its rightful owners. I'm just doing this for the entertainment for myself and others and not taking any profit from this.

Don't forget to Review!

A/N: Would any of you like to see another Characters view?

* * *

The first full week Cloud experienced at Shinra was certainly an interesting one.

First, he was stared at; well him and Håvard were stared at.

Secondly, he was tested to be put in an advanced class, thanks Vincent.

Thirdly, he was moved into a single room because of Håvard and the fact that no one wants to be in a room with a huge wolf.

Lastly, he was now in a meeting with Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal.

Oh, yeah and Zack was there.

* * *

"So, this is the prodigy that everyone is talking about?" a certain red head droned on as he circled Cloud. His red haired shown lighter in color thanks to the artificial light in the room while his Mako blue eyes were emotionless as they gazed upon his smaller frame. Standing before Cloud was two darker haired males one larger than the other and a silver haired man standing slightly taller than his companions with cat like Mako green orbs studying him like a science project.

"So it seems," one of the dark haired males, Angeal Hewley, said as he crossed his arms one over the other over his chest. The smaller male, Zack, bounced over to look him over.

"I mean he does look built and fit and stuff, but is he SOLDIER material?" Zack asked, "He looks more ready to join a clutch of Chocobos with that hair." Cloud had to hold back a remark, but glared all the same at the dark haired male before him. Even though he did have to look up to do it. "Yikes, never mind," he said as he bounced over to his mentor again.

"Well, the only thing we can do is test him. We'll pin him against Zack here," Genesis said putting in his two sense.

Cloud looked Zack up and down curiously before nodding his consent. He could take the bigger boy. "I accept," he said softly looking at the four of them with a determined look in his big blue eyes. He was confidant that he could take the larger teen on especially after the training with Vincent and the new abilities of a Weapon.

"Excellent," Genesis purred out as a small smirk slowly formed against his pale pink lips before the red head had to ask, "Also, do you by chance know how to use Materia?"

Cloud's brow twitched slightly before he nodded, "I do. My hometown is by a Mako Reactor and a few natural Mako Springs where someone could find naturally formed Materia. My mentor growing up made sure I was able to use Materia and where I could find them."

"What Materia are you proficient in?"

"Fire, Ice, Bolt, Aero, Stop, Haste, Barrier, Cura, and Summon," he listed off as he mentally tallied each one off the massive list. He didn't list all of the ones he could actually do since he didn't want them to get suspicious of him.

"Summon?" Genesis asked as his blue eyes narrowed curiously, "Who?"

"I only have Odin and Phoenix at the moment," he said holding out his bracer showing them the four materia in it. Two of them were a dark red indicating they were the Summons while one was green Cura and the other an orange red Firaga.

"Those are fully mastered," Genesis commented making the other three behind them give each other glances.

"Well I hope they are. I've been using them for years," Cloud said as he let his arm fall down to his side.

"Hmmm," Genesis hummed as he folded his arms across his chest, "I want to see just how proficient you are at them before we test your physical strength against Zack. Follow me." And without anything else being said Genesis turned his back and stalked towards the doors at the end of the room. Cloud furrowed his brows in confusion before he was tapped on the shoulder.

"You should hurry and catch up," Zack said as he gestured to Genesis, "He gets very impatient and when he gets impatient, well, bodies tend to start burning."

Cloud sighed and nodded as he jogged forward to catch up with the red haired Materia genius while the other three walked behind him in a slower pace. He walked behind Genesis as the older man stalked through the halls making other SOLDIERS and Cadets part ways to give them a clear path.

" _Don't worry hatchling,"_ the soft crooning voice of Phoenix echoed through his head as well as filling him with a calmness he could only achieve after a good sparing session, " _The fire wielder is only curious of your talents. He tends to hide behind masks and laments of Loveless to hide his true intentions. He won't hurt you hatchling, and if he does try he'll have both myself and Odin to get through."_

Cloud mentally chuckled at Phoenix and thanked him just as they made their way outside. The Shinra outdoor training grounds were grass-less exposing the rough dirt and showing that the grounds were well used. On one side of the grounds was a group of cadets that Cloud recognized as his own group.

"Clear the area!" Genesis yelled out as he came to a stop in the middle of the field causing Cloud to come to a halt as well. The blond haired teen watched as his teacher saluted before ordering the cadets to the sides of the field were they stood silent and watching. Cloud waited until Genesis turned towards him with a smirk gracing his lips.

"Now that they are out of the way. I am assuming that you are ready?" he asked as he cocked his hip to the side as he placed his glove covered hands of his hips.

"Yes sir," he replied softly before getting a nod back. He watched as Genesis joined Sephiroth, Angeal, and Zack back towards the edge of the training field. He took a deep breath before bringing his braced arm up and with a flash of light an orb flew up into the air causing the sky to darken with dark grey clouds.

A high pitched sound echoed from the clouds before they were parted exposing the summon, Odin, descending from the sky. The skeletal demonic summon came to a stop in front of Cloud as Odins' ride, Slepnir, whinnied and kicked around with its eight legs.

" _Little one,"_ came the gruff voice of Odin as the summon calmed Slepnir.

"Odin," Cloud greeted softly giving the summon a small smile as Slepnir nosed his hair softly in greeting. Cloud reached up and gave the horse a soft scratch on its neck.

" _You are in need of my help?"_ Odin asked as he continued to look down at the teen.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you that this is a test by Genesis. He got excited when he heard I had summons. I guess Phoenix didn't give you the memo," Cloud said with a small chuckle. Odin sighed softly and nodded before dispersing himself after their good byes.

Cloud didn't let himself turn around to look at the First Class group before throwing his arm out with a snap letting another orb of light sink into the ground causing the dirt to have a water ripple like effect. Cloud stepped back for this one just in time to dodge the first burst of flame. He watched as each wave of flame became bigger and bigger before an egg like ball of fire rose from the ground. Mentally counting down from five, Cloud watched as cracks formed on the ball of fire before it burst letting Phoenix free.

"Kraaaaw!"

He smiled as he saw the spread wings and the shimmering feathers of golds, reds, and oranges as the flames died down leaving the summon exposed for everyone to see. Cloud approached the summon once Phoenix settled down on the ground. "Show off," Cloud muttered as the large head bent down to nudge against Cloud's hand. He got soft clacking of the summons beak for the comment.

" _Of course little hatchling,"_ came the haughty reply, " _I am proud to have you as my summoner once again and who wouldn't want to show off brilliant looking feathers such as these?"_ Cloud chuckle as he ran a hand through said feathers before Phoenix dispersed. He sighed softly once he was gone and saw Genesis approach him as he ran a hand through sweaty hair.

"Well done," the red head said as he sent Cloud a smirk, "though I must say I have never seen summons acting like that before."

Cloud licked his dry lips before responding, "Yeah. They've been with me for years, and after years of being summoned they've become friends instead of just partners for battle."

"Hmm," Genesis hummed before turning around to walk back to the others, "Well, I've seen enough for you Materia testing. It's time for your physical testing. Might as well do it out here. There's more room after all."

Cloud nodded and followed Genesis to the others. He took a few sips of water from a bottle that was offered before setting it down. "What weapon are you most comfortable with," he was asked by a monotone sounding Sephiroth causing Cloud to look up at his once enemy.

"If it's allowed I do have my own weapon. I'm most comfortable with that one," he said as he put his hands in his pockets, "I can have Håvard bring it from my rooms."

"And how is a wolf suppose to do that when it's not here to get the command?"

"A whistle. Håvard has been trained since he was a pup to do different commands with whistling. It was a alternative method in his training if I was in a situation where I was somehow unable to speak, but needed to give him a command I could whistle and he would know what to do," Cloud explained as he looked Sephiroth right in his cat like eyes, "He can hear me from miles away."

"Show us."

Cloud nodded and took a deep breath before letting out a small series of loud chirping like whistles that sounded like a Northern Cardinal. They waited in silence for a few moments before a loud bark echoed through the training field. Cloud turned and saw Håvard in all of his scarred beauty running his way towards them with Cloud's Fusion Sword on his mouth. With another sharp whistle had the wolf slowing down to a trot before sitting down not even panting as Cloud took the sheathed sword.

Cloud turned back to see three impassive faces staring back at him while the fourth stared at them in amazement, "Dude! That's so cool!" Zack said as he jumped in place.

"Um thanks," Cloud said giving his wolf a few scratches behind his scarred ear.

"What else can it do," Zack asked before he was given a look by Angeal, "Um you can answer that later."

Cloud nodded as he held back a chuckle before his attention was taken by Sephiroth approaching him. "What kind of blade is that? It looks like a broad sword, but there's something different about it," the silver haired man said as he looked over the shinning blade.

"It's called a Fusion sword. It's several swords merged into one sword. It can come apart if done correctly and reattached," Cloud said demonstrating as he twisted the handle and pulled letting a sword become free before setting it aside and pulling the others apart until all six pieces were placed before them. He put the sword back together making the singular double sided sword once again.

He looked up once again and saw a contemplative look on Sephiroth and an excited one on Zack while Genesis and Angeal looked at him with appraising looks. "Are you sure you'll be able to lift it?" Angeal asked as he looked over the large heavy sword then to Cloud's skinny, but slightly muscular arms.

Cloud sent him a smirk before lifting it up and placing it on his shoulder as he held the handle with one hand, "I'm pretty sure I can lift it," he said as he tilted his head to the side before turning to Zack, "I'm ready when you are."


	6. Chapter 6

Hey Nuggies! How's it goin? Well here I am with something that has never crossed my mind until recently. A FINAL FANTASY FANFICTION! My favorites in the series are FFVII, FFXV, and FF Dirge of Cerberus. They are also the ones I am more knowledgeable of as I have played all three of them. This fanfiction will also be SLASH and M!Preg.

So fair warning if you do not like this genre of fanfiction then there is a back button. No need to leave a comment. Just take your negativity and go away. Now since this is FANFICTION I am taking some of my own liberties with this and changing a few things in both characters and timeline wise. This is also a TIME TRAVEL fic.

Rating: M

Pairing: AGSZC (Zack and Cloud will have the M!Preg)

Chapter Warnings: Crappy fighting.

Foreign language: Translations will be in () after the language. I do not speak Norwegian so if any native Norwegian folk are/is reading this and want to give me better translations feel free, but please be kind about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy. It belongs to its rightful owners. I'm just doing this for the entertainment for myself and others and not taking any profit from this.

Don't forget to Review!

A/N: And just for leaving all of you for the past bit without anything I left a special little something at the bottom! Enjoy!

* * *

Cloud quickly dodged the slash of Zack's sword as the other teen slashed out at him. He jumped back and blocked another swipe before performing one of his own. He let out a soft grunt as Zack's sword pressed down on his own causing the metal to squeal and spark lightly as they rubbed against each other. He pushed forward causing the sword on his to back off and left Zack open to a kick in the chest to push him back.

"Come on now," Cloud taunted as he licked his dry lips, "Is that all you can do?"

He saw Zack smirk a small bit before he was the one being pushed back with slashes and kicks. Cloud backed off a bit to gather his own energy and balance before rushing forward towards Zack catching the dark haired teen off guard. He swiped his sword and hit Zack's sword in just the right location causing the broadsword to leave Zack's hand and land on the ground yards away from where they were.

Zack quickly made his way to his sword and grabbed it in time to block Cloud as the blond slashed at his exposed side. Zack swung back a bit quicker than Cloud expected and was hit by the dull side of the broadsword. Letting out a grunt Cloud braced himself as he flew back and hit the ground so hard he made a groove in the ground. He slowly got up and cast a quick cure to his ribs as at least one rib cracked before jumping back to dodge another kick. Cloud huffed softly as he tried to get air back in his lungs as Zack once again swiped at him.

In an attempt to get one up on Zack he threw his sword at the taller teen making the dark haired teen dodge the sword right into his foot as he kicked out at Zack's knee causing it to dislocate. He ran to his sword as he heard the other click his knee back into place and give chase. Just as he grabbed the handle of his sword and turned to face Zack ready to defend himself against the downward swing Zack was about to do he heard a sharp whistle followed by yelling.

"That's enough you two!"

Cloud looked over to see Angeal calling out to them and waving an arm to get their attention. Cloud placed his sword on his shoulder as he gasped for breath. He guessed he really needed more training if sparring, even if his sparring partner is enhanced and he wasn't in this body, for a bit got him this tired. He looked over at Zack, who had approached him from behind, and held out his hand, "Good fight," he said softly waiting for the other to shake hands.

"Same. Wouldn't mind another soon," Zack said with a happy-go-lucky smile on his face as he shook Cloud's hand, "You're really good for an unenhanced. Hell you're really good for someone that hasn't been here long."

Cloud chuckled as they made their way to the other three that were waiting for them, "I had help. I've been training for a while now with someone from my hometown," he explain as they reached the others.

"Oh? And who's that?" he heard Genesis ask as the red head butted into the conversation.

Cloud hummed softly before answering truthfully, "His name is Vincent Valentine. He use to work for the Turks." Vincent had told him he could out him like this to others. It wouldn't change anything since the older man was going to seek out Veld in the first place before heading to Shinra to speak with Tseng, Veld's replacement as Head of the Turks. Vincent had said that he was going to join the Turks once again, but only if they would let him get rid of Hojo. They, as in Cloud and Vincent, had enough evidence that they could stage an assassination and blame it on a group of people that the old man had once experimented on.

"Hmm Vincent Valentine," Genesis hummed as he thought over the name, "I haven't heard of him."

"Well he was in the Turks roughly thirty-seven years ago," Cloud said as he followed the others inside the building. Once inside Cloud fell silent unwilling to answer any other questions while in the open where other Turks or employees could over hear him talking about Vincent. Cloud didn't want the Turks hearing about Vincent until the dark haired Weapon approached them first. He murmured to them that he would have to ask Vincent if he could reveal more to them.

He really wanted to tell them everything since he wanted, no needed, the four of them on his side once everything came to a point where actions was the only answer to solve the Planet's problems. He didn't know if it was because of his Weapon side, his more animalistic instinct side, that he felt as though he could trust the four of them. It was as though the Planet itself or Minerva was pushing them together. He already knew from his own experience that he could trust Zack, but the others he didn't have much time spent with them besides fighting them on the battlefield.

"Well Cloud we'll deliberate over the results on your two tests before we give an answer as to what to do with you," Angeal said as Sephiroth nodded and Genesis sent him a smirk. Zack wrapped an arm around Cloud's shoulders and grinned widely.

"I'll take Cloudy boy here to the infirmary," the dark haired teen said as he ruffled the blond spikes, "I kind of hit him a bit too hard out there. I heard a bone or two crack."

Angeal nodded before turning around and heading towards the elevator as Sephiroth and Genesis followed behind the dark haired man. Cloud's eyes widened as he saw the silver haired male grope Genesis' ass as the doors closed behind them. He was still aware of Zack's arm around his shoulders as he was led the opposite way from were the others went.

The blond stayed silent as he was taken inside a plain white department of the building and then was led upstairs to a large room with stark white walls and beds. Inside the room was two people dressed as nurses and one person dressed as a doctor. Strangely enough the doctor and nurses didn't give off a bad vibe like those in the labs with Hojo. Slowly relaxing under Zack's arm he was moved to a bed as one of the nurses approached them.

"Hello! What seems to be the problem?" she asked as she grabbed a clipboard and a pen to hand to Cloud for him to fill out.

"Just my buddy here get knocked around pretty hard during training. He's not enhanced you see and I may have hit his ribs too hard," Zack explained as he moved to sit by the bed Cloud occupied. Cloud stayed silent, completely alright with letting Zack talking to the nurse about him, as he filled the forms for the nurse before handing them back to her.

"Alright. It'll be just a few moments to put these in the system then I'll take you back for an x-ray of your ribs. If you can just remove anything metal from your body and put on the dressing shirt in the side table," she pointed to a small table by the bed that had one drawer to it, "I'll be just a moment!"

Cloud sighed softly after the nurse left and slowly began taking off his metal items such as the ring Vincent had given him, that had a Cura stored in it, and the earring he wore. He had gotten the piercing a couple of years ago as he missed the small piercing he had in the past/future/time it was a wolf earring like the one Zack had gotten him as a birthday present one year. The next thing off his body was his shirt revealing the few scars he had gotten that traveled back with him and the dark bruising on his side from where Zack had kicked him.

"Geez man," Zack said as he stared at his new found friend, "Where did you get all of those?! I really did a number on you as well huh?"

Cloud looked over at him almost, sadly almost, forgetting that Zack was there. "Oh uh the Nibel wilderness is pretty dangerous with the wolves and dragons and Vincent was a hard sparring partner. He doesn't believe in using training weapons. He likes to use the real weapons."

"Wolves and dragons huh? Well I guess that's where you got your wolf from," Zack said as he cupped the back of his hand with both hands and lent back in the chair. Cloud pretended to not notice the way the Mako blue eyes of Zack roamed over his exposed skin. He swallowed slightly as he held back a blush, and believe him a blush on his pale skin shown brightly.

"Yeah. Found him just after his mother and siblings were killed. He was the only survivor. Largest of the bunch too, but I never understood why he was left while his siblings and mother were killed," Cloud said as he put on the shirt after retrieving it from the side table, "I raised him then trained him to fight along side me. He also learned how to do a small bit of chores around the place to help my mother."

"Chores?" Zack snorted as he thought of the idea of a large wolf like Håvard with a broom in his mouth to sweep the floors.

"Like hunting, carrying a heavy basket, or retrieving fallen items for my mother," Cloud explained as he put his hands in his lap after running it through his hair.

"Oh that's cool," the dark haired man said and was cut off from saying anything else as the nurse had returned to get Cloud. It didn't take long for the x-rays to develop or for the nurse to confirm that he had two broken ribs and three cracked ones on top of some bruising. She wrapped his ribs after putting a cooling cream on it to reduce the bruising and to calm the pain he had. He was also given a small tube of the cream to put on it when he changed the dressing that night and some pain pills.

After being advised to take it easy for the next few days he was finally released from the infirmary though the nurse did say that she wanted him back in a few days to see how well he was healing. He nodded and took an appointment card before finally exiting from the bright room. He let out a sigh that had Zack chuckling.

"Don't like infirmaries?"

"It's not that. I just don't like medical staff. Too many of them seem fake to me. Like they put on a mask in front of the patients and don't really seem to care about your complaints. They just want you in and out of there so they can go back to dong whatever they do when they don't have patients," Cloud mumbles as Zack led him to an elevator and looked at the dark haired man curiously when he was ushered inside. He watched Zack insert a card into a reader that made the last ten buttons on the panel light up before pressing number 62.

"I am taking you to my rooms," Zack said his accent thickening as the brunette let out a yawn, "I don't feel right leaving you alone since I was the one to hurt you. Is that okay?"

Cloud bit the inside of his cheek as he tried his hardest not to comment about the accent. The blond had always thought it was a bit cute. "Um yeah, but I did just meet you. You good with inviting a stranger into your rooms?" He asked as he watched the numbers on the elevator climb higher and higher.

"I'm good. Perfect really," Zack as he gave Cloud a crooked smile that always seemed to make Cloud's knees shake a bit. Cloud let out a small sigh and gave him a small smile back. Just as he was about to ask another question the elevator let out a soft ding and opened its doors. He waited for Zack to get out first before following him.

"Oh! I forgot to mention! I share a room with Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth," Zack said as he led the blond to the only door on the floor.

Cloud looked at him with wide eyes before exclaiming, "Don't you think that was important to mention before bringing me up here?!"

"It's fine," Zack said chuckling as he unlocked the door and walked in, "I texted them while you were getting your x-ray and asked them if it was alright if I brought you up here. Leave your shoes at the door please."

Cloud let out yet another sigh, which he seemed to be doing a lot lately, as he took off his boots carefully as whatever pain meds the nurse gave him before the x-ray seemed to wear off. "Want anything to drink?" he heard Zack ask as the darker haired teen wondered into the direction Cloud assumed was the kitchen.

"What do you have?" he slowly followed the other as he took in the rooms. It was quite large, and he hoped it was seeing as four guys were sharing it. The room was mostly an open floor since cloud could see the kitchen, dining room, and living room all in the same area. He did spy a few doors and assumed they led to bedrooms and bathrooms. The floor was covered in a dark hard wood while the walls were a lighter color, an almost white kind of color that Cloud couldn't name, and the furniture were dark leather that looked expensive, but comfortable. In the middle of the living room portion of the area was a large fluffy light grey rug under a large tv mounted on the wall.

"Oh we have water, lemonade, liquor, milk, coffee, energy drinks, and sodas," Zack listed off break Cloud from his observations.

"I'll take a soda," Cloud said as he set his meds and cream on the black granite counter tops. The kitchen was done in white, black, and stainless steel appliances. The cabinets and the island were white while the tops were the black granite.

Cloud gave Zack a smile as he was given the soda before he was led to the couch in the living area. "Want to watch a movie?" he was asked as he settled on the comfortable leather couch.

"Sure. What kinds do you have?" Cloud asked as he opened his drink and took a few sips before placing it on the coaster on the coffee table.

"Anything. Name it and we got it," Zack said as he turned the tv on.

"Space Balls?" Cloud asked wanting something funny to watch to keep his mind off the fact he was this close to his once best friend and secret crush.

"Of course!" Zack chirped as a wide grin graced his face before turning it on, "The others never want to watch it with me."

"I'll watch it any time," Cloud said as he leaned back and looked up at the tv. The sat there in silence only laughing at the funny parts of the movie. Cloud could feel the tension in the air by the time the middle of the movie rolled around. He wasn't sure why there was tension but it was there hanging around them like an unwanted third party.

Taking in a deep breath Cloud took a chance and looked over at Zack only to see the dark haired teen staring at him. There was some indescribable emotion in the Mako blue eyes before it was replaced easily by lust. Cloud swallowed and licked his lips and watched as those blue eyes dipped slightly to watch his tongue brush over his pale pink lips.

Words escaped him as Zack slowly moved from his side of the couch to right beside him. He watched as the older teen reach out and caressed his cheek with his warm calloused hands before leaning down. Cloud took in a shuddering breath as he felt Zack's hot breath brushing against his lips as his own blue eyes began to slowly slip close just as soft warm lips met his own.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey Nuggies! How's it goin? Well here I am with something that has never crossed my mind until recently. A FINAL FANTASY FANFICTION! My favorites in the series are FFVII, FFXV, and FF Dirge of Cerberus. They are also the ones I am more knowledgeable of as I have played all three of them. This fanfiction will also be SLASH and M!Preg.

So fair warning if you do not like this genre of fanfiction then there is a back button. No need to leave a comment. Just take your negativity and go away. Now since this is FANFICTION I am taking some of my own liberties with this and changing a few things in both characters and timeline wise. This is also a TIME TRAVEL fic.

Rating: M

Pairing: AGSZC (Zack and Cloud will have the M!Preg)

Chapter Warnings:

Foreign language: Translations will be in () after the language. I do not speak Norwegian so if any native Norwegian folk are/is reading this and want to give me better translations feel free, but please be kind about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Final Fantasy. It belongs to its rightful owners. I'm just doing this for the entertainment for myself and others and not taking any profit from this.

Don't forget to Review!

* * *

"Zack," Cloud murmured softly as he pulled back from the soft warm lips. His eyes shot up to meet Zack's eyes as he swallowed around the hard lump in his throat. His pale skin began to redden as his lips tingled from the kiss.

"You know," Zack said as his own lips slowly stretched into a smirk, "You're not so good at being subtle, Cloud 'Chickabo' Strife."

Cloud looked up at him shocked. His Zack, before he died, was the only one to call him that. It was a play on how tiny he was and the fact that Chocobos loved him and treated him as if he were one of their chicks. His natural blue eyes stared into Zack's Mako blue ones before they began to tear up.

"Z-Zack?" He choked out as his mind finally wrapped around what the taller man said.

"Yeah," the brunette said a bit breathily before he was tackled onto the couch by his best friend and secret, well not so secret anymore, crush. Zack held tightly onto the shaky form. "It's okay. I'm really here," he said softly while running his hands through soft spiky hair.

Cloud couldn't help but let out a little sniffle as he held onto the larger body of his best friend. He tried to get as close as he could to Zack as he tried his best not to cry. "H-How," Cloud asked a few minutes later once he was able to pull away slightly. He looked up at Zack to see him with his own watery eyes.

"Minerva brought me back," the brunette said softly, "After I died I was taken to the Lifestream where Minerva was waiting for me in a field with a large tree. She told me that I shouldn't have died; that it wasn't my time. She told me that you needed me, but I couldn't go back since my body ended up falling into the Mako. So I stayed there for what seemed like years, but I was only there a week according to Minerva."

"She told me of the things you did and how Hojo's experiments messed you up. I don't blame you for what happened with Aerith. You couldn't help it, anyway! After Sephiroth was gone Minerva gave me an offer to either stay with her or to come back and help you. Well, it was quite obvious what I was going to do."

Zack looked down and sent him a small smile as he said, "There was no way that I would stay there when you needed me. You've already done so much without me and I know how hard it was for you after I died. I came back to do as much as I can before Minerva sent you back."

"That's why Vincent thought we were in a different timeline," Cloud murmured as he chewed the inside of his lip before speaking a little louder, "Vincent thought this was a different timeline then our time. He found the newspapers saying the Shinra elder was dead."

Zack gave Cloud a small smirk, "I got rid of him with some help," he confessed as he moved to sit up a bit higher, "It was something Minerva told me to do when I came back. She also gave me the cure for Degradation for Genesis and Angeal. I had slipped it into their morning drinks one morning so they'll never experience that ever again."

"She did?" Cloud asked before a smile graced his own lips, "I'm glad. I know how much Angeal means to you."

Zack nodded and took a deep breath before slowly letting it out, "There's also something else I never expected to happen."

Cloud looked at him confused for a moment, but when Zack stayed silent he had to ask, "Well, what is it?"

Cloud even with his enhanced hearing couldn't make out the murmur that Zack let out. Reaching up Cloud poked at Zacks' cheek and commanded him to say it slower. "I'm in a relationship," the darker haired teen said as he turned to look at the still playing tv.

"A relationship," Cloud repeated as he looked at him incredulously. The word bounced through his head for a few moments before the memory of what happened just a few moments before, "Then why the hell did you kiss me?!" he asked as he pushed a small bit away from Zack, "If you're in a relationship why the hell did you kiss me?!"

Zack cleared his throat before answering him, "Because I love you. I have always loved you."

Clouds' jaw dropped as his eyes widened. Zack loved him? As in Cloud? He had always thought that Zack loved Aerith seeing as they were in a relationship before Zack died. "What about Aerith?" Cloud ask assuming that Zack was with her.

"What about her? I'm not in a relationship with her," Zack said as calmly as he could, "I'm not in a relationship with any female."

"Then who?" Cloud asked sitting back.

"Angeal," Zack said then added, "and Genesis, and Sephiroth."

Clouds' breath got caught in his throat as Zack listed the three he was in a relationship with. All three… how in Gaia would that even work? Thought after thought ran through his head before he began to imagine all of them together. He could still remember how Genesis looked like and Angeal was a larger version of Zack so that wasn't hard to imagine. Sephiroth though was harder to imagine since all of his memories of a psychotic Sephiroth hellbent on destroying the world for his 'Mother'.

"Cloud?"

His head popped up and looked at Zack, who had called him name, "Huh?" he asked as he saw the look of worry on Zacks' face.

"What's going on in that head of yours Chikabo?"

Cloud shook his head and cleared his throat before replying, "Uh nothing. So, all of them? As in _all_ of them?" Zack let out a small laugh and nodded. "And you just kiss me even though you are with them?"

Zack nodded again as he gave Cloud a cheeky smile, "They know."

"Know? Know about what?"

"Everything."

"E-Everything?"

"Yup!"

Cloud looked at the dark haired teen in exasperation. "You mean," Cloud said softly and calmly, "that I wasted years of planning only to find out that The General and his Lieutenants know about the end of the world and that two of them in a previous life ended up dying. That I spent years in Nibelheim planning on ways to keep the General from going insane and destroying the world in the name of his 'Mother'?

"Yup!"

Cloud closed his eyes and counted back from ten to keep himself from exploding at his crush as he said, "And while I spent years away freaking out while trying to plan on how to save the world you were here getting down and dirty with three men?"

"Yup!"

"Zack," Cloud said calmly as he got up and gave him a look.

"Yeah?"

"Run."

Cloud watched as Zacks' eyes got larger before the teen bolted off the couch and out of his apartment. Cloud counted down from five before giving chase.


End file.
